(upbeat music) - Donor Connect honors organ donors and celebrates the healing power of donation through its annual Gift of Life Walk/Run.

Here to tell us more about this important event is Mark Dixon, hi Mark.

- Laura, it's great to be with you today.

- I'm so glad you're here.

It's such an important organization and it was amazing to read that there are currently 900 people waiting to receive an organ.

- In the state of Utah.

there are more than 900 people on the wait list right now.

They may be waiting for kidneys, or livers, or hearts, but they're on that list and hoping that somehow they're able to realize a lifesaving transplant.

- Yeah, I think a lot of us know someone who is in a position where they are waiting for something and what a great thing that you help connect those donors and the recipients.

And you were telling me earlier about not disqualifying yourself as an organ donor.

- You know, the vast majority of people are in favor of organ donation, 95% But there's a much more diminished number of people that actually sign up to be organ, tissue, and eye donors.

And that's because a lot of people disqualify themselves.

They think they're too old or they're not in good enough health.

There are other reasons people disqualify themselves.

And we hope that people will not disqualify themselves, but rather sign up and then let medical professionals determine, if the time ever arises, whether or not they can be an organ, tissue, or eye donor.

- That's an important thing to remember.

So you have this great event coming up, tell us about it.

- We do, on September 20th, we have the Gift of Life Walk/Run event.

This year we're very excited because it will take place at Liberty Park.

That's a new venue for us and I think it offers some really, really great facilities that are there.

Lots of shade.

And it's where the organ donation and transplant community comes together for this important event.

We enjoy that experience and invite others to that event.

- Oh, great, well thank you so much for coming to tell us about it, it's such an important thing to remember.

- It's a pleasure, thank you, Laura.

- If you would like to learn more about this walk/run from Donor Connect, it's called the Gift of Life Walk/Run.

It's September 20th at Liberty Park.

Learn more at DonorConnect.life, that's DonorConnect.life.

(upbeat music) I'm Laura Durham, thank you for watching "Contact."

(upbeat music continues) - Local events, arts, culture.

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